Device for holding pieces in spoke-machines



nNrTnn stares PATENT OFFICE.

I. sTARKsQoF GENOA. AND L. manico, or GRoToN, New YORK.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING PIECES IN SPOKE-MACHNES.

`spseine-ation of Letters Patent No. irosadated June 13, 1854.

To ,all 'wlw/m, t may concern i Be it known that we, I. STARKS, ofGenoa, in the county of Cayuga and State of New `York, and L. PERRIGO,of Groton, Tompkins county, New York, have invented a lcertain new anduseful Improvement in Spoke Planing or Dressing Machines, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing, which `forms part ofthis specication, andin which- Figure l represents a plan of our improved machine: Fig. 2 avertical longitudinal `section through the line X X in Fig. 1 and F ig.3 a vertical transverse section taken centrally through the revolvingcutter heads which plane or dress the spoke:

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of the socket bar with its clamp-headfor holding one end of the spoke, detached.

The general principles of action of this machine are the same as thoseof many being planed. This clamp head is beveled others for planing ordressing wood, as, for instance, the stuff to be dressed is fed forwardbetween revolving cutters which, as they rotate, plan-e the stuff to theform required. j

The carriage (A), which holds the stuff or spoke in the rough to beplaned, is provided at the forward end with a headstock y (B) which isprovided with a socket bar (a) that is fitted so as to, slidelongitudinally through and turn in the headstock and has a clamp head(b) at its inner `end tozreceive the hub end of the spoke and hold thespoke to a V shape at its back and fits into a V shaped recess in theheadstock, to prevent the socket bar, with the spoke, turning, when thespoke is set and held up against the headstock by a tail screw in apuppet (C) at the back ofthe carriage. A spring (c) fast tothe forwardendof the headstock (or any other equivalent device may be used) servest0 press the `socket bar (a) inward, so that, on slackening the tailscrew in,n the puppet (C), the clamphead (b) isforced out of its Vrecess in the headstock, when the spoke, together with the socket bar,may be turned, for the purpose of planing or dressing eitherlongitudinal half f of the spoke alternately without taking the spokeout or disturbing its truth, and this is an expeditious and true methodof adjusting the spoke for the purpose of planing either half insuccession. The carriage (A),.thus

holding the spo-ke, travels on rails projecting from a bed (D), and isforced forward by hand from the back so as to pass therough spoke orstuff between revolving cutter heads (E) that plane and dress the oneedge, during the passage `of the stufl:z between them, and, upon the oneedge being planed, the carriage is run back and the spoke t-urnedhalf'around and adjusted, as before described, for planing the otheredge by again running the carriage forward.

' The cutter heads (E) are provided with two three or more knives(6)each, set 0bliquely and arranged so that the knives in the one cutterhead are intermediate with those in the other cutter head. The cuttingends of the knives are of hollow curvilinear form to round the spoke asrequired and the cut-` ter heads carrying the knives are so hung upontheir driving shaft (af) as to be capable of adjustment nearer to orfarther from each other for the purpose of giving to the spoke therequired variable shape, as is well known and has before been done invarious machines for dressing irregular forms by causing the cutters torecede and advance as required by formers or their equivalents pressingthe cutters inward and outward to their work, but in a less perfect andpracticable manner than that by which we accomplish `the same, as willbe perceived by the following description: The cutter heads shaft (f),which carries `the driving pulley (g), is drilled, at either end, for aportion of its length, at its center, and pins or inner shafts (it)fitted therein: these inner shafts are connected with the driving shaftand cutter heads, so as to cause them all to rotate together, by crosspins or keys (i) passing through all three, oblong slots being made inthe driving shaft, where the cross pins t through, to enable the innervshafts (h), which have longitudinal play, moving the cutter heads nearerto or far-` ther from each other along the driving shaft, as specied, tocut the spoke of the required variable thicknesses and shape. The outerends of the inner shafts (7L) are connected with levers (le) which serveto force the cutter heads together, at the required point as the stuffpasses through the j machine, by means of swells or formers projectingfrom the rails of the carriage (A), and, as the carriage passes along,acting upon rollers (m) connected by rods with the levers (le). A springbetween the cutter heads serves to keep the cutter heads at theirrequired distance apart when not pressed inward by the swells on thecarriage rails. Thus the cutter heads are forced inward to their work,when required to cut deeper or closer, by pressure applied centrally tothem which causes them to slide freely on their driving shaft andeifectually restrains them from sticking, likewise the arrangement ofmeans by which this is accomplished is compact and offers no obstructionto the driving belt but leaves a clear space around the cutter heads,and beneath, for the travel of the carriage, whereby the liability ofaccident is lessened, et cetera.

The rails, or the bed upon which the carriage runs, have the requisiteincline given them to taper the spoke. The bed (D) is hinged at its backend to the frame of the ma-chine. The carriage at the extremity of itsforward stroke, immediately after the spoke is passed through thecutters, is made to trip or fall the bed suddenly to the positionrepresented in red lines (Fig. 2), when the carriage is drawn back,carrying the spoke along with it, free of and below the revolvingcutters; thus, by the sidden drop of the bed and the slight jarconsequent thereon by its striking the cross p-iece of the frame at theforward end, causing the spoke to clean itself of and shake off anysmall chips or shavings that may have been left adhering to the spoke bythe cutters, and, by the lowered position of the spoke in its backtravel, preventing the spoke from touching and dulling the knives. Uponthe carriage arriving at the end of its back stroke, it similarly andsuddenly raises the bed to its original inclined and higher positionrequisite for a repetition of the planing process. No delay occurs inthus raising and lowering the bed, as the carriage is made to trip andset it, as the carriage ap proaches the ends of its double stroke, bymeans of a lever (r) which is struck alternately by either cross rail ofthe carriage and which is connected by a rod or link timber (s) toknuckle-jointed levers (u and o) the one of which is hinged to the bedand the other to the frame below.' The position of these several leversis represented by red lines (Fig. 2) when the bed is down and by blacklines when raised. By this arrangement of the knuckle-jointed levers,the bed is caused to drop the instant the carriage strikes and moves theoperating lever (r) during vthe advance movement of the carriage, as theweight of the bed with its carriage assiststobend or move the levers totheir posit-ion represented in red lines immediately upon theknuckle-jointed levers being thro-wn out of their vertical sustainingposition, so that, little or no power or time, l, in pressing forwardthe carriage, is lost in dropping the bed; and the same arrangement oflevers effects an ease in lifting it.V Also, should any defect beobservable in the action of t-he knives upon the spoke, the knivesbecome suddenly displaced, or aught else occur likely to damage thespoke or re-- quire or suggest immediate stoppage of the cut andliberation of the spoke from Contact with the knives, and clearance iseffected most expeditiously by only slightly touching or pressingforward the operating lever (r) so as to start only the knuckle jointedlevers out of their vertical position, when the weight of the bed itselfand carriage thereon, combined, will perfect the liberation. By thismanner of operating the bed and the arrangement whereby the spoke isplaned or dressed to its shape, either edge alternately, withoutdetaching it to dress the one edge after the other, the work is almostas expeditiously performed as it is by other machines planing both edgesat onoe, while the machine itself is much simpler,

less liable to derangement and less costly,

and forms a more equal or truer spoke by reason of both edges of thespoke being planed by the same cutters.

lVhat we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patentis The manner of holding and operating they spoke in the carriage sothat, upon slackeningthe tail screw at the one end, the spoke is forcedbackward and made capable of being turned without disturbing it from itscenters, and is restrained from turning when set, by means of thesliding and turning socket bar in the headstock provided with a clamphead fitting in a V or other suitably I shaped recess in the headstockand the socket bar with its clamp-head forced backward by a spring orits equivalent, substantially as specified whereby great expedition andtruth is ensured in turning and setting the spoke.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

ISAAC STARKS. LYMAN PERRIGO.

Vitnesses as toStarks: ABRAM W. STEVENS, HIRAM BIRDSALL.

Witnesses as to Perrigo:

H. S. FARRAR, HIRAM D. LYON.

